Robert E. Lee surrenders - Apr 09, 1865 - HISTORY.com Robert E. Lee surrenders Publisher A+E Networks At Appomattox, Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders his 28,000 troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the American Civil War. Forced to abandon the Confederate capital of Richmond, blocked from joining the surviving Confederate force in North Carolina, and harassed constantly by Union cavalry, Lee had no other option. In retreating from the Union army’s Appomattox Campaign, the Army of Northern Virginia had stumbled through the Virginia countryside stripped of food and supplies. At one point, Union cavalry forces under General Philip Sheridan had actually outrun Lee’s army, blocking their retreat and taking 6,000 prisoners at Sayler’s Creek. Desertions were mounting daily, and by April 8 the Confederates were surrounded with no possibility of escape. On April 9, Lee sent a message to Grant announcing his willingness to surrender. The two generals met in the parlor of the Wilmer McLean home at one o’clock in the afternoon.

Lee and Grant, both holding the highest rank in their respective armies, had known each other slightly during the Mexican War and exchanged awkward personal inquiries. Characteristically, Grant arrived in his muddy field uniform while Lee had turned out in full dress attire, complete with sash and sword. Lee asked for the terms, and Grant hurriedly wrote them out. All officers and men were to be pardoned, and they would be sent home with their private property–most important, the horses, which could be used for a late spring planting. Officers would keep their side arms, and Lee’s starving men would be given Union rations. Shushing a band that had begun to play in celebration, General Grant told his officers, “The war is over. The Rebels are our countrymen again.” Although scattered resistance continued for several weeks, for all practical purposes the Civil War had come to an end. Related Videos Surrender at Appomattox, 1865 Surrender At Appomattox Printer Friendly Version >>> With his army surrounded, his men weak and exhausted, Robert E. Lee realized there was little choice but to consider the surrender of his Army to General Grant.

After a series of notes between the two leaders, they agreed to meet on April 9, 1865, at the house of Wilmer McLean in the village of Appomattox Courthouse. The meeting lasted approximately two and one-half hours and at its conclusion the bloodliest conflict in the nation's history neared its end. Prelude to Surrender On April 3, Richmond fell to Union troops as Robert E. Lee led his Army of Northern Virginia in retreat to the West pursued by Grant and the Army of the Potomac. A running battle ensued as each Army moved farther to the West in an effort to out flank, or prevent being out flanked by the enemy. Finally, on April 7, General Grant initiated a series of dispatches leading to a meeting between the two commanders. "General R.E. Lee, Commanding C.S.A.: 5 P.M., April 7th, 1865. The results of the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia in this struggle.

I feel that it is so, and regard it as my duty to shift from myself the responsibility of any further effusion of blood by asking of you the surrender of that portion of the Confederate States army known as the Army of Northern Virginia. U.S. Grant, Lieutenant-General" The note was carried through the Confederate lines and Lee promptly responded: "April 7th, 1865. General: I have received your note of this date. Though not entertaining the opinion you express of the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia, I reciprocate your desire to avoid useless effusion of blood, and therefore, before considering your proposition, ask the terms you will offer on condition of its surrender. R.E. Lee, General." Grant received Lee's message after midnight and replied early in the morning giving his terms for surrender: ADVERTISMENT "April 8th, 1865. General R.E. Lee, Commanding C.S.A.: Your note of last evening in reply to mine of the same date, asking the conditions on which I will accept the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, is just received.

In reply I would say that, peace being my great desire, there is but one condition I would insist upon,--namely, that the men and officers surrendered shall be disqualified for taking up arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged. I will meet you, or will designate officers to meet any officers you may name for the same purpose, at any point agreeable to you, for the purpose of arranging definitely the terms upon which the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia will be received. U.S. Grant, Lieutenant-General" The fighting continued and as Lee retreated further to the West he replied to Grant's message: "April 8th, 1865. General: I received at a late hour your note of to-day. In mine of yesterday I did not intend to propose the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, but to ask the terms of your proposition. To be frank, I do not think the emergency has arisen to call for the surrender of this army, but, as the restoration of peace should be the sole object of all, I desired to know whether your proposals would lead to that end.

I cannot, therefore, meet you with a view to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia; but as far as your proposal may affect the Confederate States forces under my command, and tend to the restoration of peace, I should be pleased to meet you at 10 A.M. to-morrow on the old state road to Richmond, between the picket-lines of the two armies. R.E. Lee, General." Exhausted from stress and suffering the pain from a severe headache, Grant replied to Lee around 5 o'clock in the morning of April 9. "April 9th, 1865. General: Your note of yesterday is received. I have not authority to treat on the subject of peace. The meeting proposed for 10 A.M. to-day could lead to no good. I will state, however, that I am equally desirous for peace with yourself, and the whole North entertains the same feeling. The terms upon which peace can be had are well understood. By the South laying down their arms, they would hasten that most desirable event, save thousands of human lives, and hundreds of millions of property not yet destroyed.

Seriously hoping that all our difficulties may be settled without the loss of another life, I subscribe myself, etc., U.S. Grant, Lieutenant-General" Still suffering his headache, General Grant approached the crossroads of Appomattox Court House where he was over taken by a messenger carrying Lee's reply. "April 9th, 1865. General: I received your note of this morning on the picket-line, whither I had come to meet you and ascertain definitely what terms were embraced in your proposal of yesterday with reference to the surrender of this army. I now ask an interview, in accordance with the offer contained in your letter of yesterday, for that purpose. R.E. Lee, General." Grant immediately dismounted, sat by the road and wrote the following reply to Lee. "April 9th, 1865. General R. E. Lee Commanding C. S. Army: Your note of this date is but this moment (11:50 A.M.) received, in consequence of my having passed from the Richmond and Lynchburg road to the Farmville and Lynchburg road.

I am at this writing about four miles west of Walker's Church, and will push forward to the front for the purpose of meeting you. Notice sent to me on this road where you wish the interview to take place will meet me. U. S. Grant, Lieutenant-General." The McLean family sits on the porch of their home. The surrender was signed in the 1st floor room on the left. Meeting at Appomattox The exchange of messages initated the historic meeting in the home of Wilmer McLean. Arriving at the home first, General Lee sat in a large sitting room on the first floor. General Grant arrived shortly and entered the room alone while his staff respectfully waited on the front lawn. After a short period the staff was summoned to the room. General Horace Porter described the scene: "We entered, and found General Grant sitting at a marble-topped table in the center of the room, and Lee sitting beside a small oval table near the front window, in the corner opposite to the door by which we entered, and facing General Grant. We walked in softly and ranged ourselves quietly about the sides of the room, very much as people enter a sick-chamber when they expect to find the patient dangerously ill.

The contrast between the two commanders was striking, and could not fail to attract marked attention they sat ten feet apart facing each other. General Grant, then nearly forty-three years of age, was five feet eight inches in height, with shoulders slightly stooped. His hair and full beard were a nut-brown, without a trace of gray in them. He had on a single-breasted blouse, made of dark-blue flannel, unbuttoned in front, and showing a waistcoat underneath. He wore an ordinary pair of top-boots, with his trousers inside, and was without spurs. The boots and portions of his clothes were spattered with mud. He had no sword, and a pair of shoulder-straps was all there was about him to designate his rank. In fact, aside from these, his uniform was that of a private soldier. Lee, on the other hand, was fully six feet in height, and quite erect for one of his age, for he was Grant's senior by sixteen years. His hair and full beard were silver-gray, and quite thick, except that the hair had become a little thin in the front.

He wore a new uniform of Confederate gray, buttoned up to the throat, and at his side he carried a long sword of exceedingly fine workmanship, the hilt studded with jewels. His top-boots were comparatively new, and seemed to have on them some ornamental stitching Signing the surrender From a contemporary sketch. of red silk. Like his uniform, they were singularly clean, and but little travel-stained. On the boots were handsome spurs, with large rowels. A felt hat, which in color matched pretty closely that of his uniform, and a pair of long buckskin gauntlets lay beside him on the table. General Grant began the conversation by saying 'I met you once before, General Lee, while we were serving in Mexico, when you came over from General Scott's headquarters to visit Garland's brigade, to which I then belonged.

I have always remembered your appearance, and I think I should have recognized you anywhere.' 'Yes,' replied General Lee, 'I know I met you on that occasion, and I have often thought of it and tried to recollect how you looked, but I have never been able to recall a single feature.'" The two generals talked a bit more about Mexico and moved on to a discussion of the terms of the surrender when Lee asked Grant to commit the terms to paper: "'Very well,' replied General Grant, 'I will write them out.' And calling for his manifold order-book, he opened it on the table before him and proceeded to write the terms. The leaves had been so prepared that three impressions of the writing were made. He wrote very rapidly, and did not pause until he had finished the sentence ending with 'officers appointed by me to receive them.' Then he looked toward Lee, and his eyes seemed to be resting on the handsome sword that hung at that officer's side.

He said afterward that this set him to thinking that it would be an unnecessary humiliation to require officers to surrender their swords, and a great hardship to deprive them of their personal baggage and horses, and after a short pause he wrote the sentence: 'This will not embrace the side-arms of the officers, nor their private horses or baggage.' Grant handed the document to Lee. After reviewing it, Lee informed Grant that the Cavalry men and Artillery men in the Confederate Army owned their horses and asked that they keep them. Grant agreed and Lee wrote a letter formally accepting the surrender. Lee then made his exit: General Lee leaves From a contemporary sketch. "At a little before 4 o'clock General Lee shook hands with General Grant, bowed to the other officers, and with Colonel Marshall left the room. One after another we followed, and passed out to the porch. Lee signaled to his orderly to bring up his horse, and while the animal was being bridled the general stood on the lowest step and gazed sadly in the direction of the valley beyond where his army lay - now an army of prisoners.

He smote his hands together a number of times in an absent sort of way; seemed not to see the group of Union officers in the yard who rose respectfully at his approach, and appeared unconscious of everything about him. All appreciated the sadness that overwhelmed him, and he had the personal sympathy of every one who beheld him at this supreme moment of trial. The approach of his horse seemed to recall him from his reverie, and he at once mounted. General Grant now stepped down from the porch, and, moving toward him, saluted him by raising his hat. He was followed in this act of courtesy by all our officers present; Lee raised his hat respectfully, and rode off to break the sad news to the brave fellows whom he had so long commanded." References: Buel, Clarence, and Robert U. Johnson, Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. IV (1888, reprint ed. 1982); Grant, Ulysses S., Memoirs and Selected Letters, Vol. I (1885, reprint ed. 1990); McPherson, James M., Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (1988).

How To Cite This Article: "Surrender at Appomattox, 1865," EyeWitness to History, (1997). Following the war, Lee refused offers to monetarily capitalize on his fame and became the president of Washington and Lee College. General Longstreet, Lee's "right-hand-man," attended Grant's wedding before the war. With the surrender in sight, a temporary truce in the fighting was called on the morning of April 9. In 1861, McLean lived near the site of the First Battle of Bull Run and saw the battle fought on his front lawn. He sold his house and moved to Appomattox to escape the combat. After the meeting, General Phil Sheridan purchased the table that Lee used for $20 and gave it as a gift to the wife of General George Armstrong Custer. Within a month of Lee's surrender, the remainder of the Confederate forces give up the fight. Grant & Lee: Grant & Lee: The Surrender Correspondence at Appomattox On April 9, 1865 Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, surrendered his beleaguered Confederate forces to Ulysses S.

Grant and the Union Army. Lee's army, after the fall of Richmond and Petersburg, had been attempting to escape to the west so that he could link up with another Confederate army under Joseph E. Johnston. Unfortunately for the Army of Northern Virginia, the fast moving Union Army of the Potomac positioned itself to cut off Lee's bedraggled army as it moved towards Lynchburg, Virginia. At the Battle of Sailor's Creek on April 6, 1865, it was becoming clear that the once vaunted Army of Northern Virginia was dissolving. Rather than pursue a path of more bloodshed, Grant reached out to Lee asking for his surrender on April 7, 1865. Lee, still not ready to surrender, continued to hold a dialog with his nemesis Grant while holding out hope that he could escape the growing Union stranglehold. Only after his defeats at Appomattox Station on April 8, 1865, where critical supplies were captured, and Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865 did Lee finally accede to Grant's surrender terms.

The correspondence below follows the letters of Grant and Lee as they seek to find an honorable and acceptable end to this bloody war. Ulysses S. Grant, as photographed by Mathew B. Brady (National Archives) APRIL 7, 1865 General R. E. LEE: The result of the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia in this struggle. I feel that it is so, and regard it as my duty to shift from myself the responsibility of any further effusion of blood, by asking of you the surrender of that portion of the C. S. Army known as the Army of Northern Virginia. U.S. GRANT, APRIL 8, 1865 General R. E. LEE: Your note of last evening, in reply to mine of same date, asking the condition on which I will accept the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, is just received. In reply I would say that, peace being my great desire, there is but one condition I would insist upon, namely, that the men and officers surrendered shall be disqualified for taking up arms again against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged.

I will meet you, or will designate officers to meet any officers you may name for the same purpose, at any point agreeable to yell, for the purpose of arranging definitely the terms upon which the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia will be received. U.S. GRANT, HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, APRIL 8, 1865 Lieut. Gen. U.S. GRANT: I received at a late hour your note of to-day. In mine of yesterday I did not intend to propose the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, but to ask the terms of your proposition. To be frank, I do not think the emergency has arisen to call for the surrender of this army, but as the restoration of peace should be the sole object of all, I desired to know whether your proposals would lead to that end. I cannot, therefore, meet you with a view to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia, but as far as your proposal may affect the C. S.

forces under my command, and tend to the restoration of peace, I should be pleased to meet you at 10 a.m., to-morrow; on the old stage road to Richmond, between the picket-lines of the two armies. R. E. LEE, APRIL 9, 1865 General R. E. LEE: Your note of yesterday is received. I have no authority to treat on the subject of peace; the meeting proposed for 10 a.m. to-day could lead to no good. I will state, however, general, that I am equally anxious for peace with yourself, and the whole North entertains the same feeling. The terms upon which peace can be had are well understood. By the South laying down their arms they will hasten that most desirable event, save thousands of human lives, and hundreds of millions of property not yet destroyed. Seriously hoping that all our difficulties may be set-tied without the loss of another life, I subscribe myself, &c., U.S. GRANT, April 9, 1865 General R. E.

LEE: In accordance with the substance of my letter to you of the 8th instant, I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia on the following terms, to wit: Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate, one copy to be given to an officer to be designated by me, the other to be retained by such officer or officers as you may designate. The officers to give their individual paroles not to take up arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged; and each company or regimental commander sign a like parole for the men of their commands. The arms, artillery, and public property to be parked and stacked, and turned over to the officers appointed by me to receive them. This will not embrace the side-arms of the officers, nor their private horses or baggage. This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to his home, not to be disturbed by U. S. authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force where they may reside. U.S. GRANT, HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, April 9, 1865 Lieut. Gen. U. S.

GRANT: I have received your letter of this date containing the terms of surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia as proposed by you. As they are substantially the same as those expressed in your letter of the 8th instant, they are accepted. I will proceed to designate the proper officers to carry the stipulations into effect. R. E. LEE, Note: Many point to Robert E. Lee's surrender on April 9, 1865 as the end of the American Civil War. This claim ignores the fact that other Confederate armies were still in the field and fighting after Lee's surrender. On April 26, 1865, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston would surrender his forces to William T. Sherman in North Carolina. General Richard Taylor's forces in Alabama surrendered on May 4th. On June 2, 1865 General Edmund Kirby Smith surrendered the Confederate Department of the Trans-Mississippi. And on June 23, 1865, General Stand Watie surrendered his Cherokee forces to the Union army in Oklahoma. Source: Official Records of the War of the Rebellion Lee Surrendered General Robert E.

Lee's surrender brought on the end of the Civil War Lee Surrendered April 9, 1865 "It would be useless and therefore cruel, to provoke the further effusion of blood," said Confederate General Robert E. Lee, "and I have arranged to meet with General Grant with a view to surrender." After four years of fighting the Civil War, Lee knew it was time to put an end to the fighting. Do you know where General Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia surrendered to the Union Army? page 1 of 3 The Surrender Of The Confederate Armies The Surrender of the Confederate Armies "The final campaign of the Army of Northern Virginia began March 25, 1865, when Gen. Robert E. Lee sought to break Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's ever-tightening stranglehold at Petersburg, Va., by attacking the Federal position at Fort Stedman. The assault failed, and when Grant counterattacked a week later at Five Forks, 1-2 April, the thin Confederate line snapped, and Lees skeleton forces abandoned Richmond and Petersburg. Although fighting would continue for the next week, it would be to no avail.

Lee was beaten and would ask for surrender terms on April 9." This is what most consider to be the end of the Civil War. However, while the war in the East was over, there were still Confederate armies under arms elsewhere. When Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox he only surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia. The Confederacy itself could not surrender because by now there was no "Confederacy." Richmond had fallen, the government officials had fled, and many of the papers had been burned. It would be up to each commander in the field to surrender his army as the news from the East reached him. The following are brief descriptions of how each Confederate fighting force surrendered. Gen. Robert E. Lee April 9, 1865. Having arranged a truce and sent notes to Lt. Gen. Ulysses. S. Grant requesting a meeting, Confederate Gen. Robert E. lee awaited his response. Shortly after noon, 9 Apr. 1865, Grants reply came and Lee rode into the village of Appomattox to prepare for Grants arrival. Lees aide selected the home of Wilimer Mclean. Lee waited in the parlor. At about 1:30 p.m.

Grant arrived with his staff. The 2 generals exchanged greetings and small talk, then Lee brought up the object of the meeting. Grant wrote out the surrender terms himself in an order book and handed it to Lee to read. The terms, proposed in an exchange of notes the previous day, were honorable: Surrendered officers and their troops were to be paroled and prohibited from taking up arms until properly exchanged, and arms and supplies were to be given over as captured property. After Lee had read the terms and added an omitted word, he ordered his aide to write a letter of acceptance. This done, at about 3:45 p.m. the generals exchanged documents. Riding back to his lines, Lee was swarmed by his adoring troops, many nearly hysterical with grief. Trying to soothe them with quiet phrases--you have done all your duty. Leave the results to God...-- he rode slowly on, followed by many who wept and implored him to say that they should fight on. The next day he issued his eloquent farewell to his army.

On the morning of 11 Apr., following a spartan breakfast and tearful good-byes from his staff, the general mounted his warhorse, Traveler, and with a Union honor guard left Appomattox for home. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston April 26,1865. Following its strategic defeat at Bentonville, N.C., March 21, 1865, the Confederate army of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was reduced to perhaps 30,000 effectives, less than half the size of Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's Federal command. Though the Confederates had fought well at Bentonville, their leader had no illusions about stopping his adversary's inexorable march through North Carolina. When Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield's force, joining Sherman at Goldsborough March 24, swelled the Union ranks to 80,000, Johnston saw the end approaching. Dutifully, however, he followed Sherman's resumed march northward April 10. En route the Confederate commander learned of the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond and of Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox.

This ended his long-held hope of joining Lee to oppose the invaders of the Carolinas. Arriving near Raleigh, Johnston at first attempted to have North Carolina Gov. Zebulon B. Vance broach surrender terms to Sherman. On April 12 Johnston went to Greensborough to meet with fugitive Confederate Pres. Jefferson Davis, whom he persuaded to authorize a peace initiative. Sherman was immediately receptive to peace negotiations, and on the 17th, under a flag of truce near Durham Station, met General Johnston for the first time "although we had been interchanging shots constantly since May, 1863." The 2-day conference at the James Bennett home produced peace terms acceptable to both generals. But since these intruded on matters of civil policy (for example, recognition of the existing Southern state governments), officials in Washington quickly rejected the agreement and criticized Sherman's imprudence. Disappointed, the Federal leader informed Johnston that unless more widely acceptable terms were reached, a 4-day armistice would end on the 26th. That day, however, the war-weary commanders met again at the Bennett home and thrashed out an agreement confined to military matters.

At once Gen-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant wired his approval, and May 3 Johnston's once-proud army laid down its arms, closing hostilities east of the Mississippi River. Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor May 4, 1865. At the wars end Confederate Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor, son of former U.S. president Zachary Taylor, held command of the administrative entity called the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, with some 12,000 troops. By the end of Apr. 1865 Mobile, Ala., had fallen and news had reached Taylor of the meetings between Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman. Taylor agreed to meet Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby for a conference a few miles north of Mobile. On 30 Apr. the 2 officers established a truce, terminable after 48 hours notice by either party, then partook of a "bountiful luncheon ... with joyous poppings of champagne corks ...

the first agreeable explosive sounds," Taylor wrote, "I had heard for years." A band played "Hail Columbia" and a few bars of "Dixie." The party separated: Canby went to Mobile and Taylor to his headquarters at Meridian, Miss. 2 days later Taylor received news of Johnston's surrender, of Pres. Jefferson Davis's capture, and of Canby's insistence that the truce terminate. Taylor elected to surrender, which he did 4 May 1865 at Citronelle, Ala., some 40 miles north of Mobile. "At the time, no doubts as to the propriety of my course entered my mind," Taylor later asserted, "but such have since crept in." He grew to regret not having tried a last-ditch guerrilla struggle. Under the terms, officers retained their sidearms, mounted men their horses. All property and equipment was to be turned over to the Federals, but receipts were issued. The men were paroled. Taylor retained control of the railways and river steamers to transport the troops as near as possible to their homes.

He stayed with several staff officers at Meridian until the last man was gone, then went to Mobile, joining Canby, who took Taylor by boat to the latters home in New Orleans. Lt. Gen. E. Kirby Smith May 26, 1865. From 1862 until the wars end Confederate Lt. Gen.. E. Kirby Smith commanded the Trans-Mississippi Department. By early May 1865 no regular Confederate forces remained east of the Mississippi River. Smith received official proposals that the surrender of his department be negotiated. The Federals intimated that terms could be loose, but Smiths demands were unrealistic. Smith then began planning to Continue the fight. Lt. Gen. U. S. Grant took preliminary steps to prepare a force to invade West Texas should that prove necessary. It did not. The wars last land fight occurred May 12--13 May at Palmito Ranch, where 350 Confederates under Col. John S. "Rest in Peace" Ford scored a victory over 800 overconfident Federals under Col. Theodore H. Barrett. But afterward the Confederates learned that Richmond had fallen and Gen. Robert E.

Lee had surrendered more than a month earlier. The news devastated their morale, and they abandoned their lines. A similar decay in morale occurred all over the department. On May 18 Smith left by stagecoach for Houston with plans to rally the remnants of the departments troops. While he traveled, the last of the departments army dissolved. On 26 May, at New Orleans, Lt. Gen. Simon B. Buckner, acting in Smiths name, surrendered the department. Smith reached Houston May 27 and learned that he had no troops. Not all of the Trans-Mississippi Confederates went home. Some 2,000 fled into Mexico; most of them went alone or in squad-sized groups, but one body numbered 300. With them, mounted on a mule, wearing a calico shirt and silk kerchief, sporting a revolver strapped to his hip and a shotgun on his saddle, was Smith. Brig. Gen. Stand Watie June 23, 1865. When the leaders of the Confederate Indians learned that the government in Richmond had fallen and the Eastern armies had been surrendered, they, too, began making their plans to seek peace with the Federal government.

The chiefs convened the Grand Council June 15 and passed resolutions calling for Indian commanders to lay down their arms and for emissaries to approach Federal authorities for peace terms. The largest force in Indian Territory was commanded by Confederate Brig. Gen. Stand Watie, who was also a chief of the Cherokee Nation. Dedicated to the Confederate cause and unwilling to admit defeat, he kept his troops in the field for nearly a month after Lt. Gen. E. Kirby Smith surrendered the Trans-Mississippi May 26. Finally accepting the futility of continued resistance, on June 23 Watie rode into Doaksville near Fort Towson in Indian Territory and surrendered his battalion of Creek, Seminole, Cherokee, and Osage Indians to Lt. Col. Asa C. Matthews, appointed a few weeks earlier to negotiate a peace with the Indians. Watie was the last Confederate general officer to surrender his command. Source: "Historical Times Encyclopedia of the Civil War" edited by Patricia L.

Faust This Page last updated 02/10/02 Confederate General Lee surrenders - Apr 09, 1865 - HISTORY.com Confederate General Lee surrenders Publisher A+E Networks Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. For more than a week, Lee had tried to outrun Grant to the west of Richmond and Petersburg in Virginia. After a ten-month siege of the two cities, the Union forces broke through the defenses and forced Lee to retreat. The Confederates moved along the Appomattox River, with Union General Phillip Sheridan shadowing them to the south. Lee’s army had little food, and they began to desert in large numbers on the retreat. When Lee arrived at Appomattox, he found that his path was blocked. He had no choice but to request a meeting with Grant. They met at a house in Appomattox at 2:00 p.m. on the afternoon of April 9. Lee was resplendent in his dress uniform and a fine sword at his side. Grant arrived wearing a simple soldier’s coat that was muddy from his long ride.

The great generals spoke of their service in the Mexican War, and then set about the business at hand. Grant offered generous terms. Officers could keep their side arms, and all men would be immediately released to return home. Any officers and enlisted men who owned horses could take them home, Grant said, to help put crops in the field and carry their families through the next winter. These terms, said Lee, would have “the best possible effect upon the men,” and “will do much toward conciliating our people.” The papers were signed and Lee prepared to return to his men. In one of the great ironies of the war, the surrender took place in the parlor of Wilmer McClean’s home. McClean had once lived along the banks of Bull Run, Virginia, the site of the first major battle of the war in July 1861. Seeking refuge from the fighting, McClean decided to move out of the Washington-Richmond corridor to try to avoid the fighting that would surely take place there. He moved to Appomattox Court House only to see the war end in his home. Although there were still Confederate armies in the field, the war was officially over.

Four years of bloodshed had left a devastating mark on the country: 360,000 Union and 260,000 Confederate soldiers had perished during the Civil War. Related Videos The surrender of Robert E. Lee, 1865 | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History The surrender of Robert E. Lee, 1865 A primary source by Robert E. Lee View this item in the Collection. Left with no route of escape after the fall of Petersburg, Virginia, on April 2, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee was faced with a difficult choice: keep fighting in an increasingly hopeless war or surrender to Ulysses S. Grant. At 4 a.m. on April 9, Major General Edward O. C. Ord, commander of the Army of the James, arrived with the XXIV Corps to support the Union forces and Lee’s fate was decided. Lee wrote to Grant and asked to meet to discuss terms of surrender. Throughout the morning, as communications concerning the surrender flew back and forth between Grant and Lee, their troops were still fighting at Appomattox Court House.

Shortly before noon, Lee sent a message to Grant’s lines asking for a “suspension of hostilities pending the discussion of the Terms of surrender of this army.” It was received and recorded by General Ord, who wrote on it: “men at rest – firing stopped.” By the end of the day, Lee had accepted Grant’s terms for surrender. The next day, Lee issued General Order No. 9, a farewell message to his troops. Explaining his decision to surrender, Lee—whose army was just 35,000 men compared to Grant’s total of 113,000—wrote that he was “compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources” and that continuing combat would be a “useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their Countrymen.” The war was essentially over, and Lee, having accepted that fate, praised his troops for their “duty faithfully performed,” bidding them “an affectionate farewell.” A full transcript of Lee’s letter to Grant is available. Transcript Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S.

Grant, April 9, 1865 Duplicate 9th April 1865 General, I ask a suspension of hostilities pending the discussion of the Terms of surrender of this army in the interview which I requested in my former communication of Today Lt Gen U S Grant Very respectfully Commanding U.S. Armies Your obt servt. R E Lee [endorsement written upside down below Lee’s message] April 9th 11.55 am A full transcript of General Order No. 9 is available. Robert E. Lee, General Order No. 9 Head Qrs Army N Va April 10, 1865 General Order No. 9 After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yeild [sic] to overwhelming numbers. I need not tell the survivors of so many hard fought battles who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to this result from no distrust of them. But feeling, that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that would compensate the loss that would attend the continuance of the contest – I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose finest services have endeared them to their countrymen.

By the terms of the agreement Officers and men can return to their homes and remain until exchanged. You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed, and I earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you His blessing and protection – With unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration of myself, I bid you an affectionate farewell. R. E. Lee Gen - Questions for Discussion You are seeing this page because you are not currently logged into our website. If you would like to access this page and you are not logged in, please login or register for a gilderlehrman.org account, and then visit the link that brought you to this notice. Thanks!

Question: In 1865 General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Confederate Army to which general?
Answer: Ulysses S. Grant